It has been a bit of a weird period for Chelsea. There has been success having lifted the first piece of silverware of the season when they beat Tottenham Hotspur to win the League Cup, and are in pole position to win the Premier League title in Jose Mourinho's second season of his second spell at the club.

On the flip side, they were embarrassingly dumped out of the FA Cup by Bradford City, and knocked out of the Champions League on away goals by Paris Saint Germain - while their performances in the league have not been convincing, even if they do find a way to strengthen their grip on the title race.

Mourinho will probably welcome this international break. He must be questioning why his side are going ahead in games and not holding on to leads or seeing the games out convincingly.

It is something he will surely look at whenever he watches footage back of their most recent performances as his side has looked exposed even when they have won games.

With nine games left for Mourinho's side - though he has a sizeable cushion in the title race, he won't be resting on his laurels. At several of his press conferences this season, he has said he could never accuse his players of being complacent, and it's hard to see that allegation being levelled at him and carrying a significant amount of weight.

There is of course the worry about injuries as players go off to play for their countries - but there is enough quality in the Chelsea squad going forward.

But a Chelsea side after the international break putting in a strong performance that shows no signs of weakness is something Mourinho should strive for, and work on as soon as his players return from playing for their countries. He has nearly two weeks to think of how to go about it, as it would send a message out to his Premier League rivals not just for this season, but for the next one as well.

Ian Bolland

A journalism graduate of Liverpool John Moores University. During his time at university, Ian spent time on work experience at local newspapers in Liverpool, Bolton and Wigan, and prior to that he did work for The Observer's 'fans verdict'. Ian also has interests in news, current affairs and business but mostly sport, including football, rugby league, cricket, golf and Formula 1, amongst others.